The Subject Expert Committee (SEC) has given its approval to Bharat Biotech to conduct phase 2 and 3 human clinical trials on 12 to 18 year-olds according to an ANI report.

The Covid vaccine is till now only approved for inoculating people 18 years and above. If the Covaxin human clinical trials in the age group of 12-18 year olds are successful, then it will boost the immunity level against the pandemic as it would cover a larger section of the population.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved yesterday Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines for Covid for 12 to 15 year olds too, earlier it was approved only for 15 years and above age bracket.

There is an urgency felt by medical experts to conduct the clinical trials for young children too to save them from vulnerability when the third wave of the pandemic hits India.

Bharat Biotech is also putting all its efforts to ramp up production of vaccines. It today won a case in the Bombay High Court, where the Court ordered the Maharashtra government to hand over a plant in Pune to Bharat Biotech’s sister concern for production of life saving Covid-19 vaccines. The Maharashtra government’s Deputy Conservator of Forests (Pune Division) had denied permission stating the plant falls under reserved forest area.

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